Twins' trio of homers knocks White Sox from first place

[September 03, 2020]  Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Jake Cave each homered and Josh Donaldson had two hits and two RBIs in his return from the injured list as the Minnesota Twins cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the rubber game of their three-game series on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

Jose Berrios (3-3) picked up the win for the Twins (22-16), allowing one run on three hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out eight while improving to 12-2 in 16 career starts against the White Sox.

Jose Abreu singled and drove in a run for Chicago (22-15), which fell out of a first-place tie in the American League Central with Cleveland -- a 5-0 winner at Kansas City -- with its second straight loss. The White Sox committed four errors in the contest and eight in the series.

Reynaldo Lopez (0-2) picked up the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Lopez fell to 1-6 all-time in nine career starts against the Twins.

Minnesota took a 3-0 lead in the second inning with all the runs coming after two outs. Cave started the rally with his second home run of the season, both off Lopez, to left-center that hit the tip of Luis Robert's glove on the way over the fence.

Ryan Jeffers followed with a walk and Max Kepler then reached on an error by second baseman Nick Madrigal. Donaldson, playing for the first time since July 31 because of a right calf injury, then followed with a two-run double into the gap in right-center.

Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson (24) swings and loses his bat the swing during the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The White Sox loaded the bases with one out in the third on an infield single by Madrigal and back-to-back walks by Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal. Madrigal then scored on a ground out by Abreu.

Sano made it 4-1 in the bottom of the third with his eighth home run of the season, a 408-foot line drive into the second deck in left.

The Twins extended the lead to 6-1 in the fifth when Sano led off with a double off the wall in right-center and then scored on a botched rundown between second and third when shortstop Tim Anderson threw wildly for an error. Cave then followed with an RBI single to drive in Luis Arraez.

Rosario ended the scoring with a two-run homer off reliever Jimmy Cordero in the sixth.

--Field Level Media
 

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